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Chestnut-tailed Jungle Flycatcher Cyornis ruficauda Scientific name definitions

Peter Clement
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 1, 2006

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

14·5–15 cm; 18 g. Medium-sized, long-billed and long-tailed forest ­flycatcher. Nominate race has head and upper­parts, including upperwing-coverts, mostly olive-brown, becoming warmer or rich rufous-brown on tertials, rump and uppertail-coverts, and rufous on tail; flight-feathers dark brown; sometimes a slighty paler or greyer area on lores; chin and throat white, breastband pale olive-brown, rest of underparts white; iris dark; bill black; legs pinkish-blue to greyish. Differs from Ficedula crypta and female Ficedula basilanica in larger size, larger bill, and whiter underparts with light olive breastband. Sexes alike. Juvenile is similar to adult, but has rufous-buff spots and dark brown fringes on most of upperparts, rufous edges and tips on wing-coverts, and pale buff spots and dark fringes on underparts. Races vary only slightly, mostly in colour of upperparts and tail, and extent of breastband: samarensis has upperparts more clearly washed rufous, eyering and tail chestnut; ocularis has fairly prominent rufous eyering, light brown upper mandible and paler or light brown lower mandible, and pinkish to purple-horn legs; boholensis has paler or olive-brown upperparts, whiter underparts with less distinct olive breastband; zamboanga is dullest and darkest race, mostly olive above, with tail dark rufous, small grey area on lores, breastband very light brown, bill mostly pale brown; ruficrissa has tail bright rufous, and grey breastband may be restricted to side of breast; isola has rufous outer webs of primaries, yellowish-buff throat, greyer breastband.

Systematics History

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Racial groupings follow splits proposed (on basis of morphology and behaviour) by recent field guide (1). Race ocularis originally spelt “occularis” but this is a misspelt Latin word, and must be corrected (2). Seven subspecies recognized.

Subspecies

EBIRD GROUP (POLYTYPIC)

Chestnut-tailed Jungle Flycatcher (Philippine) Cyornis ruficauda [ruficauda Group]

Cyornis ruficauda ruficauda
C. r. ruficauda
Available illustrations of subspecies in this group
SUBSPECIES

Cyornis ruficauda samarensis Scientific name definitions

Distribution
Samar, Biliran, Leyte, Dinagat, E and C Mindanao, in E and SE Philippines.
SUBSPECIES

Cyornis ruficauda boholensis Scientific name definitions

Distribution
Bohol (SC Philippines).
SUBSPECIES

Cyornis ruficauda zamboanga Scientific name definitions

Distribution
W Mindanao (Zamboanga Peninsula and Mount Matutum).
SUBSPECIES

Cyornis ruficauda ruficauda Scientific name definitions

Distribution
Basilan.
EBIRD GROUP (MONOTYPIC)

Chestnut-tailed Jungle Flycatcher (Sulu) Cyornis ruficauda ocularis Scientific name definitions

Cyornis ruficauda ocularis
C. r. ocularis

Distribution

Sulu Archipelago (Pangamian, Jolo, Tawitawi).
EBIRD GROUP (POLYTYPIC)

Chestnut-tailed Jungle Flycatcher (Crocker) Cyornis ruficauda ruficrissa/isola

Cyornis ruficauda isola
C. r. isola
Available illustrations of subspecies in this group
SUBSPECIES

Cyornis ruficauda ruficrissa Scientific name definitions

Distribution
Mt Kinabalu, in N Borneo.
SUBSPECIES

Cyornis ruficauda isola Scientific name definitions

Distribution
mountains of Borneo (except Mt Kinabalu).

Distribution

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Habitat

Lowland and lower montane forests, to c. 1000 m in Philippines, and between 1000 m and 2000 m in Borneo.

Movement

Resident; some altitudinal movement, has been recorded down to sea-level in Borneo.

Diet and Foraging

Not well known. Food mostly small insects, also spiders (Araneae). Solitary, also occasionally in mixed-species flocks. Forages in forest understorey and along forest edges, usually 2–10 m from ground; occasionally pursues flying insects from low perch.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Song a series of up to 3 high-pitched “chirr” notes rapidly repeated, or a more musical “cheep cheep chirr”, sometimes followed with a high-pitched buzzing note or trill.

Breeding

Birds in breeding condition in Apr–Jun. No other information.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern
Not globally threatened. Uncommon or locally fairly common; locally common in N Borneo. Present in Rajah Sikatuna National Park (Philippines).
Distribution of the Chestnut-tailed Jungle-Flycatcher - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
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Distribution of the Chestnut-tailed Jungle-Flycatcher

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Clement, P. (2020). Chestnut-tailed Jungle Flycatcher (Cyornis ruficauda), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.chtjuf1.01
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